Romania's Public Debt Rises to 123.61 Bln Lei (29.3 Bln Euro) at End-June

Total public debt was equivalent to 23.27% of the country's projected gross domestic product (GDP) for this year, while at the end of last year it was equivalent to 21.78% of GDP, the ministry said in a statement on its website.

Central government debt accounted for 92.96% of the total public debt in the first six months of the year and the remaining 7.04% was debt of the local governments. At the end of 2008 the central government debt made up 91.58% of the total.

The Finance Ministry said in the statement that it projects Romania’s 2009 GDP at some 531.25 billion lei, up from 503.96 billion lei in 2008. However, Romania’s Finance Minister Gheorghe Pogea said earlier this month the GDP at current prices is expected to reach 497.3 billion lei this year, compared to the previous projection of 531.25 billion lei.

According to European Union standards, Romanian government’s foreign debt was 42.9 billion lei in the first half of the year, while the domestic government debt reached 38.8 billion lei in the same period.

(1 euro=4.2227 Romanian lei)